Then you plate a heap of it next to some creme fraiche (or strained yogurt if you're J David B) and chervil (or curly parsley if you -- like me -- don't know where the hell to find chervil).

It's earthy, tangy and sweet, like a livelier borscht -- one that makes you want to tear into your next course, rather than go curl up in a warm place.

The genius of this recipe is only enhanced by Henderson's fanciful writing style -- it's inexact, but a salad doesn't really need rigor. You're better served with Lewis Carroll-like imaginary descriptives. That blob looks nustled like a good friend, right? I bet it wouldn't, had I been told to "garnish".

Here's the best part: you've presented your diners with the tools to make fireworks on the plate. As Henderson's last line explains, "A very striking salad ready for the eater to mess up."

Got a genius recipe to share -- from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Please send it my way (and tell me what's so smart about it) at [email protected].

Photos by James Ransom

The Genius Recipes cookbook is here! (Well, almost.) The book is a mix of greatest hits from the column and unpublished new favorites -- all told, over 100 recipes that will change the way you think about cooking. It'll be on shelves in April, but you can pre-order your copy now.

I'm an ex-economist, ex-Californian who moved to New York to work in food media in 2007. Dodgy career choices aside, I can't help but apply the rational tendencies of my former life to things like: recipe tweaking, digging up obscure facts about pizza, and deciding how many pastries to put in my purse for "later."

Comments (11)

This is such a great recipe! I've made this a number of times since you posted it. It is so easy for what you get out of it in terms of flavor. And, happily, although you get a little beet stained when making it, I've managed to stay beet juice free when eating it!

Bravo, Kristen! More often than not, I just leave out the chopped flat leaf parsley that I use as a substitute for chervil...and it doesn't seem to be missing anything. I also use red wine vinegar for the acid. Either way, a super lovely red mess of a salad. So simple and so good. These are the kind of veg recipes that are so brilliant from Mr. Henderson that I wish we would see much more of in print.

Good luck. That's one that eludes me. So darn persnickety! I'm going to try again this year, however, because it's so hard to find in even the best shops (perhaps because it's so darn persnickety and has a shelf life of about five minutes . . . .) ;o)

We've tried growing it here in Hawaii in a number of client yards...it tends to do best in a cooler (but Hawaii cool) environment that gets a good amount of rain. At least that is what I've experienced...

Ruth Reichl wrote this up a couple of years back, and we've loved it since then - great salad, and if you can get the chervil, do try it. I know some of the greenmarket stands at Union Square used to have it from time to time :)

This salad is making me giggle, sounds as much fun to make as to eat it! just realized that there is something beyond just the taste in these genius recipes, its the joyful prospect of trying these out.